Aaron Cook

Rockies lose Cook - maybe In the sixth inning of Wednesday night's game between Cincinnati and Colorado, a line drive off the bat of the Reds' Joey Votto didn't just knock Rockies pitcher Aaron Cook out of the game - it may have ended his season. The righthander sustained a non-displaced fracture in his lower right leg when he was hit by a Votto's comebacker. Cook (6-8) was cruising before the injury, allowing one run and six hits in five-plus innings in the Rockies' 9-2 victory, their sixth straight.

  Monday at 8:40 p.m. RHP Kyle Kendrick (1-1, 5.87 ERA) vs. Colorado LHP Greg Smith (1-2, 6.35).   Tuesday at 8:40 p.m. RHP Roy Halladay (6-1, 1.45) vs. Colorado RHP Aaron Cook (1-3, 6.03).   Wednesday at 3:10 p.m. LHP Jamie Moyer (4-2, 4.38) vs. Colorado RHP Esmil Rogers (0-1, 6.39).

Cole Hamels, MVP of last season's National League Championship Series and the World Series, compared pitching in a home postseason game to Jimmy Rollins' leading off for the Phillies. "You have to set the tone," Hamels said. "You can get it in your favor and get the crowd with you right off the bat, then it'll favor us. " Pitching Game 2 today against the Colorado Rockies as opposed to yesterday's Game 1? Talking before Cliff Lee's gem in yesterday's opener, Hamels attempted to put that issue to rest, saying, "not a big deal.

AGENDA SCHEDULE: Best-of-five Game 1: Phillies 5, Rockies 1 Phillies lead series, 1-0 Game 2: Today, 2:37 p.m. Colorado (Aaron Cook 11-6) at Phillies (Cole Hamels 10-11) Game 3: Saturday, 9:37 p.m. Phillies (TBA) at Colorado (Jason Hammel 10-8) Game 4: Sunday, TBA Phillies at Colorado, if necessary Game 5: Tuesday, Oct. 13, TBA Colorado at Phillies, if necessary TODAY AT THE BALLPARK 11:35 a.m. Phillies postseason party Citizens Bank Way Music by Mr. Greengenes; games, including a giant slide, mechanical bull, speed pitch and face painters.

SOMETIMES a cigar is just a cigar. Sometimes a loss is just an isolated defeat. Sometimes, though, it's a lot more. The Phillies were beaten by the Rockies in Game 2 of their National League Division Series yesterday afternoon at Citizens Bank Park. Could turn out to be just a bump in the road. Could even turn out to be a wake-up call for a team that occasionally seems to believe nobody would have the audacity to beat it. But manager Charlie Manuel talked a lot in the waning days of the regular season about how important home-field advantage would be once the playoffs started.

The Phillies' quest for low-risk, high-reward players continued Wednesday when the team announced the signing of three veteran pitchers to minor-league contracts, including righthanders Aaron Cook and Juan Cruz. They also made the signing of Rodrigo Lopez official, a move that was reported last week. All three pitchers have been invited to spring training as nonroster players. Cook, 33, spent most of last season with the Boston Red Sox and went 4-11 with a 5.65 ERA in 18 starts.

BOSTON - Knuckleballer Tim Wakefield isn't worried about how his trademark pitch will behave in the mile-high altitude of Coors Field. Because the inflammation behind his shoulder that bothered him all September will keep him off the Red Sox roster, he has more important things to think about right now. "If I continue to pitch, based on the information I'm getting from the doctors, I'm seriously at risk of injuring myself for the rest of my...

The series hasn't started yet, and the Rockies already have a loss. Starting pitcher Jorge De La Rosa, who is in the midst of a career year, will miss the National League Division Series because of lingering problems with his left groin. De La Rosa had won 14 of his final 16 decisions, but was pulled after three innings in his final outing on Oct. 3. "Our medical people have been working on him and his groin is about the same," manager Jim Tracy said. "He was scheduled to throw a bullpen [session yesterday]

CLEARWATER, Fla. - The Phillies lately have employed a few pitchers who are master craftsmen, even artists. Aaron Cook isn't one of those. The veteran righthander is more of a handyman concerned with getting the job done rather than looking good doing it. "I pitch to contact," Cook said after throwing four workmanlike innings at Bright House Field on Sunday afternoon in his first start of spring training. "I work quick. I'm not going to be a high-strikeout guy. I'm going to work quick, throw [few]

The Phillies' quest for low-risk, high-reward players continued Wednesday when the team announced the signing of three veteran pitchers to minor-league contracts, including righthanders Aaron Cook and Juan Cruz. They also made the signing of Rodrigo Lopez official, a move that was reported last week. All three pitchers have been invited to spring training as nonroster players. Cook, 33, spent most of last season with the Boston Red Sox and went 4-11 with a 5.65 ERA in 18 starts.

At Coors Field, Denver. Monday at 8:40 p.m. LHP Cole Hamels (12-6, 2.61 ERA) vs. Colorado RHP Jhoulys Chacin (8-8, 3.50). Tuesday at 8:40 p.m. RHP Kyle Kendrick (5-5, 3.52) vs. Colorado RHP Aaron Cook (2-5, 5.05). Wednesday at 3:10 p.m. RHP Roy Halladay (13-4, 2.44) vs. Colorado RHP Jason Hammel (6-10, 4.65).

ATLANTA - Chipper Jones hit a two-run homer, Jair Jurrjens earned his NL-leading 12th win, and the surging Atlanta Braves beat slumping Colorado, 9-1, on Wednesday night. Dan Uggla added a two-run homer in the eighth, and Jordan Schafer had four hits for the Braves, who have won eight of their last nine, including three straight over Colorado. Jurrjens (12-3) allowed one run, five hits, and two walks in six innings. He has allowed no more than one run in four straight starts, leaving his NL-leading ERA at 1.87.

Rockies lose Cook - maybe In the sixth inning of Wednesday night's game between Cincinnati and Colorado, a line drive off the bat of the Reds' Joey Votto didn't just knock Rockies pitcher Aaron Cook out of the game - it may have ended his season. The righthander sustained a non-displaced fracture in his lower right leg when he was hit by a Votto's comebacker. Cook (6-8) was cruising before the injury, allowing one run and six hits in five-plus innings in the Rockies' 9-2 victory, their sixth straight.

IT HAD BEEN 16 games since the Phillies held a lead as big as the one they seized in the fifth inning last night, and everywhere you looked you could see the effects. Roy Halladay, the beneficiary of just five runs in his previous three starts, settled into cruise control and breezed his way through eight innings. A crowd that had seen the Phillies play just seven home games in the previous 25 days - none since the All-Star break - saw reason to stick around through a dense blanket of heat and humidity.

SOMETIMES a cigar is just a cigar. Sometimes a loss is just an isolated defeat. Sometimes, though, it's a lot more. The Phillies were beaten by the Rockies in Game 2 of their National League Division Series yesterday afternoon at Citizens Bank Park. Could turn out to be just a bump in the road. Could even turn out to be a wake-up call for a team that occasionally seems to believe nobody would have the audacity to beat it. But manager Charlie Manuel talked a lot in the waning days of the regular season about how important home-field advantage would be once the playoffs started.

WILL TERRIBLE Thursday be remembered by Phillies fans as a pitching version of 1977's Black Friday? The question hangs like a cloud of frozen breath in a walk-in freezer after an excruciating, 5-4 loss to the Colorado Rockies. It will be answered this weekend in a Denver ballpark where the fans will turn blue long before those mountains on a chilling Coors can. Between them, starter Cole Hamels and manager Charlie Manuel might have blown up the jury-rigged pitching staff in Game 2 of a National League Division Series that appeared so signed, sealed and all but delivered after Wednesday's sandblasted, 5-1 victory over the resilient Rockies.

Cole Hamels, MVP of last season's National League Championship Series and the World Series, compared pitching in a home postseason game to Jimmy Rollins' leading off for the Phillies. "You have to set the tone," Hamels said. "You can get it in your favor and get the crowd with you right off the bat, then it'll favor us. " Pitching Game 2 today against the Colorado Rockies as opposed to yesterday's Game 1? Talking before Cliff Lee's gem in yesterday's opener, Hamels attempted to put that issue to rest, saying, "not a big deal.